Integrating collaborative localization into professional translator training

Maria Del Mar Sanchez Ramos

doi:10.12807/ti.113201.2021.a03

Abstract

Non-professional translation (NPT) has attracted increasing attention in translation studies in recent years. As a consequence, translator training needs to take NPT into account in the translation curriculum. In this article I report the findings of an exploratory study conducted to implement and evaluate an online collaborative localization project as an example of NPT. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative methods, the findings show that the trainees had a positive attitude towards NPT practices and were highly satisfied with the inclusion of NPT in the localization curriculum.

Highlights

The coming of the internet and the subsequent emergence of social networks represent a new departure in communication between clients and translation services providers, and in how information is exchanged between them
The introduction of these collaborative models into translation classrooms seems closely aligned with guidelines from European Higher Education Area (EHEA), where the objectives include the achieving of competences, which are being understood as sets of skills, knowledge and attitudes, all of which are very much oriented towards students’ learning processes
Taking into account both the reality of new trends in collaborative translation and EHEA guidelines, this paper presents translator trainees’ attitudes towards both the use of collaborative localization platforms and the introduction of these platforms as part of the Localization curriculum

Summary

Introduction

The coming of the internet and the subsequent emergence of social networks represent a new departure in communication between clients and translation services providers, and in how information is exchanged between them In this context, new translation scenarios have started to emerge, including translation crowdsourcing and online collaborative translation as examples of non-professional translation (NPT) (Jiménez Crespo, 2019). Technological advances, have allowed volunteer translators from around the globe to gather in online communities and generate multilingual content This form of translation, which is engaged in voluntarily, is important for humanitarian work and emergency situations due to the fact that it enables communities to quickly access vital information and knowledge. An activity defined by Schäler (2011, p. 157) as “the linguistic and cultural adaptation of digital content to the requirements and locale of a foreign market, and the provision of services and technologies for the management of multilingualism across the digital global information flow”, collaborative localization tasks require knowledge of collaborative work platforms and specific formats (e.g., the Gettext system or portable object (.po) files, which are used for working on open-source software localization)

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Conclusion